1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for handling and disposing of medical waste.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Medical waste materials present inherent hazards which require that extreme caution be exercised during their disposal. Many medical waste materials contain infectious components, such as, bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens. Even when handled with extreme care, there still exists the danger of an individual contacting the medical waste products and becoming infected. Once one individual is infected, germs may be carried and spread among others, such as patients and family members. While protective body coverings, such as, gloves, masks, gowns, and the like, have been employed to reduce the risk of disease transmission, there remains the hazard presented by syringe needles, blades, lancets and the like (collectively known as sharps), which can readily puncture protective coverings. Blades, syringe needles and other sharps present the greatest danger of transmitting infection immediately after they have been used on a patient.
The contaminated medical waste products, (used blades, needles or other articles) must be disposed of as quickly as possible to prevent them from accumulating in work areas or patients' rooms where they are likely to be inadvertently contacted by individuals.
An additional concern is the potential for reuse of syringes if not immediately disposed of after a single use. If syringes are permitted to accumulate before being destroyed there then remains a likelihood that someone will reuse them. It is often the case that drug addicts will seek to obtain used syringes for reuse in administering drugs to themselves. Anytime a syringe is reused, there exists the possibility of transmitting serum hepatitis and other diseases since the syringes are not sterilized. Therefore, it is essential for health and safety purposes to render the medical waste products harmless to those who must carry out their disposal and to others who are likely to encounter the used sharps either inadvertently or for subsequent misuse. The less contact that is required on the part of individuals who must dispose of medical waste products, the safer the disposal procedure will be.
There are known devices which are directed to handling medical waste products. These devices are often used in clinics, hospitals and physicians' offices. One known disposal device is the use of a box into which medical waste materials are inserted after use. The box is filled with the used syringes (in their original form, i.e. not destroyed) and is then collected and taken to a disposal site, such as a landfill. Other disposal devices employ the use of blades to destroy the used syringes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,765 to James A. Musselman relates to a syringe and needle grinder which utilizes an intake chute to receive syringes for grinding. U.S. Pat. No. 3,750,966 to Bryce P. Anderson provides a device for destroying syringes in which the syringes are manually fed into the machine by an operator. U.S. Pat. No. 3,926,379 to Gale E. Dryden, et al. discloses a syringe disintegrator wherein syringes are placed in a hopper and ground with a hammer mill. With many prior art devices, the used syringes which are to be destroyed, must be handled by the operator during disposal when transporting the syringes from their location of use to the location of the destruction device. U.S. Pat. No. 3,929,295 to Anthony P. Montalbano, provides a storage bin to contain the syringes which are to be disposed of. Syringes are piled into the bin, until the bin is full. With prior art devices, generally, it is necessary to permit access to used syringes each time an another used syringe is added to a hopper or storage container. Used syringes which remain in a bin or hopper and are waiting to be destroyed therefore present a potential problem and health hazard.